Paper box handhole reinforcement



Aug. 6, 1957 w. B FOSTER PAPER 202: HANDHOLEIY REINFORCEMENT Filed may20, 1954 YIIIIIII'I'I'A WILLIAM B. F

INVENTOR. 0 ST E R United States Patent 2,801,786 7 PAPER BOX HANDHOLEREINFGRCEMENT William B. Foster, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application May 20, 1954, Serial No. 431,116 1 Claim. (Cl. 229--52) Thisinvention relates to paperboard containers, and particularly to such ashave handholes in their end walls to facilitate handling.

The main objects of this invention are to provide improved means forreinforcing the handholes in paperboard containers against becoming.torn during handling, and for repairing the handholes of containers thathave become torn by rough handling; to provide an improved form ofreinforcement adapted to be used on corrugated or solid fiber cases,such as egg cases, bottle cases, and the like, for strengthening orrepairing the handholes in the ends of the cases; to provide an improvedhandhole reinforcing means for paperboard cases which will moreuniformly distribute the carrying load to the case structure and therebyminimize likelihood of damage to the case from handling or carrying; andto provide a simple, and improved form of metal stamping that isespecially adapted for such handhole reinforcement and that is bothefficient in use and inexpensive to manufacture.

Most truck cases are provided at each end with a handhole located abouttwo and three-quarters inches down from the top score, such handholesusually being approximately four inches wide and one and threequartersinches deep. The piece of board that is cut out to make this handhole isoften left attached along its top edge to act as a flap that is foldedupward inside the case to provide a less sharp lifting edge. Thisstrengthens the top edge of the handhole but does not prevent thetearing of the walls of the container beyond the ends of the handhole,as often happens upon lifting the loaded case or when the loaded case ispulled across the surface upon which it rests.

The present invention is intended to provide simple and improved meansfor initially strengthening the egg case at the handhole so as toprevent such tearing, and to be applied to cases that have been torn atthe handhole to repair the same and thus render them capable ofcontinued use.

A specific embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view taken on a vertical linethrough the handhole of a container with the reinforcement in placethereon.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end view of an egg crate fitted with suchreinforcement.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the appearance of the reinforcedhandhole from the inside of the container.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a simple form of the handhole reinforcementembodying the present invention.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the same.

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan of the same.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the same.

In the form shown in the drawings, the container 10 is constructed ofcorrugated or solid fiber paperboard that may be formed of a singleblank sheet with appropriate score lines 11, 12 and 13, permitting it tobe folded into box form. The vertical walls 14 of the container havecover flaps 15 and 16 hinged thereto and. the end walls 14 havehandholes 17 below and parallel with the fold line 12' at the top endthereof.

According to the present invention, each such handhole is reinforced bymeans of a sheet metal stamping 18 which is adapted to be inserted onthe inside of the container between the handhole and the score line 12and which is shaped to provide a tongue 19 that extends through thehandhole and which together with the body portion of such reinforcementplate 18 forms a U-shaped clip 20 embracing substantially the entire topedge of the handhole. The metal sheet from which the reinforcing plate18 is stamped and formed preferably has sufiicient resilience so thatthe clip 20 in its final form causes the carton material above thehandhole to be gripped between the tongue 19 and the body of thereinforcementplate 18 with sufficientforce to hold the reinforcement inplace.

The stamping is also provided with a reinforcing rib 21 that may beformed as a linear reverse bend extendingfrom end-to-end of the plate18, as indicated in Figs. S and 8;

The upper portion 23 of the plate 18 has a recess 22 corresponding tothe shape of the tongue 19 in the blank, due to the fact that as amatter of economy and mass production, a series of blanks for thesereinforcements can be stamped from a single strip of metal by asuccession of parallel shearing cuts shaped in the form of the upperedge of the plate 18, as will be understood from Fig. 8.

It is apparent that the reinforcing plate 18 can be applied to the caseor removed from the case before, during or after the time of removal ofthe contents. Such reinforcements can thus be applied to truck casesalready in use, as those used for procurement of eggs from producers.Ordinarily, such cases are put out to the farmers to be filled fromdaily egg production and are picked up by route men in the course ofregular calls. When a light truck case is used, the case is oftensubject to abuses, either by the farmer or by the trucker picking up theeggs from the farm, as a result of which the end wall of the case abovethe handhole becomes torn. These cases, however, are frequently usedover and over, sometimes as many as thirty or more trips, back and forthbetween producer and shipper, and when a torn handhole occurs there isserious likelihood of damage or breakage of the contents due to droppingthe case. The use of the present invention in the field, however,readily cures this difficulty and not only reduces loss of contents butalso greatly extends the useful life of the case.

Also the metal stamping of the present invention can be placed on truckcases prior to delivery to the producer and remain on the case as longas it is used for pickup purposes, and, since the metal stamping isreadily removed, the device is capable of repeated re-use on successivecases.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive the width of the improved reinforcingmeans 18 is preferably made so that the top edge of the upper portion 23will extend to the cover score line 12 and engage the inner surface ofthe inner cover flap 15 when the same is in closed position. Thus whilethe clip portion 20 reinforces the top edge of the handhole againstbuckling, while the case is being handled, the laterally extended endportions of the plate 18 spread the strain on the wall of the containerfar beyond the ends of the handhole 17 and the upper edges of the wingportions 23 bear against the top flaps 15 so as to convey a considerableportion of the lifting strain to a wide bearing on the top flaps alongthe joint between the top flaps and the end wall of the container,thereby minimizing the strain that might otherwise cause the containerend wall to tear.

The main advantages of this invention reside in the very simple form andarrangement of the improved reinforcing means whereby its manufacturemay be had at such a low cost as to permit its use on cases orcontainers of substantially every type that requires frequent handling;and in the fact that by the use of the invention the useful life ofpaperboard cases and containers can be greatly extended over what isotherwise accepted as normal practice.

Further advantages are to be found in the fact that the improved devicemay be used to repair torn cases, which would otherwise be useless, andto accomplish such repair in a manner that would last as long as thecase would otherwise be useful; and in the fact that by relieving thecase end wall of a considerable portion of its normal load, which istransferred to the cover structure, the case is made more secure againstaccidental failure.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shownand described, it is understood that numerous details of the structureshown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of theinvention as defined by the following claim:

I claim:

In a rectangular carton of paperboard, an end Wall having a closure flaphinged along its top edge, said end wall having an oblong handholetherein and said handhole having a top edge substantially parallel withthe top edge of the end wall, a frictionally mounted reinforcementcomprising a flat plate bearing against the inside surface of saidcarton end wall with one longitudinal edge extending along and engagingsaid cover flap when the same is in closed position and with anotherlongitudinal edge extending along the top edge of said handhole, saidplate having a resilient tongue of a width substantially equal to thelength of said handhole extending outwardly through said handhole andclampingly embracing the said end wall along the top edge of saidhandhole, and said plate extending laterally along said end wall beyondboth ends of said handhole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,004,197 Ethridge June 11, 1935 2,206,314 Werner July 2, 1940 2,311,040Evert Feb. 16, 1943 2,419,842 Lebold Apr. 29, 1947 2,558,940 DunningJuly 3, 1951 2,611,530 George Sept. 23, 1952

